If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

We Return: Knicks @ Boston - Sun, April 17 @ 7:00pm

It may not be the first time for some of you, but right now, you're getting double teamed!

Crazy⑧s, In Association With iSayUghh, present to you, knicksonline.com, the first playoff game thread on this glorious site in 7 years! How fitting that one Carmelo Anthony is number 7. Is that what you call 'Good Ju Ju'?

But before the madness ensues, each and every one of you MUST view, or review, this epic video created by resident ko.com genius -

AmareForPresident

And now, as our banner arises from the bowels of mediocrity once again, resident cunning linguist iSayUghh will set the wheels in motion with an underdog speech Winston Churchill would be proud of......

Soundtrack to the underdogs battle cry.

Press play NOW

RISE OF THE UNDERDOG

A heavy burden is the weight of doubt. Adversity an obstacle as strenuous on the mind as the body. Is our battle already lost in futility? Must we look up as we're looked down upon? Is our enemy's pedestal as lofty as it seems?

If so then we have already lost.

But that is not so in this hour.

The underdogs throughout the annals of time have questioned their mettle, and risen despite the weight of their opposition and their doubters.

We are a team. Forged by its resilience, strength and energy. A team budding with exuberance and want. A team, despite its detractors, possessed of deft skill, experience, tenacity, all of which are amplified by the underdog's flame.

We must not underrate the gravity of the task which lies before us or the temerity of the ordeal, to which we shall not be found unequal.

Our enemy fears us in its thought. It's assuredness shrouded by our unquenchable desire for supremacy.

Our potency undeniable, it raises the brows of a nation swept by enthusiasm.

The underdogs lurk.

Their senses made keen as they smell the wounds of their oppressors.

They know that the time to tear and take what is theirs is upon them.

As one, the underdogs prowl in search of former glory, forgetting not the savour of its sweetness.

Rise now! Our banner unfurls as we defy all who stand against us!

We are the underdogs! We shall not be turned back!

WE ARE THE NEWYORK KNICKS

YOU STAND IN OUR WAY.

WE WILL CUT YOU DOWN.

AND IF THIS WASN'T A RIVALRY BEFORE, IT ****ING IS NOW

YOUR SUPREMACY DIES TONIGHT AS WE DEAL THE FIRST RESOUNDING BLOW.

I thought I'd ask KO's creator, moderator and ***** devastator, Rady, to add words of inspiration to the thread that's waited 7 years. In typical Rady fashion, he was brief and to the point:

This always gets me pumped up, and to me, it's better then any inspirational words one could tell!

Do it! Press play!

And now, the moment you've all been frothing at the jowls for, the Knicks starting line 5.

BILLUPS

@ PG, the man who once punched a horse to the ground defending his sandwich, known as Mr Big Shot, Chaunceeeeeeeeeeey Billups!

FIELDS

@ SG the man who once wrestled and devoured a liger to gain its sexual powers, he's half black and half white so we have to wonder what colour his nipples are: Landryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Fieeeeeeeeelllldsss.

MELO

@ SF: Many have attested to his dislike of the homeless. His wife has enormous fun bags. He's allergic to not having eye watering anal sex. Carmelooooooooooo Anthonyyyyyyyyyyy.

STAT

@ PF: The man who circumcised himself at 2 weeks old. He can open a beer bottle with his testes. He once impregnated a virgin in MSG's front row by looking at her. Amar'eeeeeeee Stouuuuuudemiiiiiireeeee.

TURIAF

@ Center his beard contains the soul of Shaka Zulu. He has fried adamantium for breakfast. He has converted millions from lesbianism with his mighty staff. Ronnnyyyyyyyyyyyyy Tuuuuuuuuuuriaaaaaffffffff.

◎PROBING THE ENEMY◎

Celdics Regular Season Team #s Per Game

Points Scored 96.7 ------ Points Allowed 90.8

FG% .488 ------ Opponent FG% .433

Free Throw Attempts 23 ------ Opponent FTA 24.1

Now this is interesting. Per 100 possessions, Boston rebound the ball at a lower rate than their opponents on both ends of the floor.

Their opponents score most prolifically in the first 15 seconds of the shot clock, accounting for almost 65% of Boston's points allowed. This is not irregular, but Boston are the best defensive team in seconds 20-24 on the clock. Second to the Bulls in 24 second violations.

Boston are in the top 10 for offensive fouls at 6th in the league.

They eclipsed opponents forced turnovers in ball handling and broken/intercepted passes by a total of 132 total TOs in the combined categories.

They are incredibly effective passers through positions 1-4, eclipsing opponent averages by 6 assists/ game, 23.9 for to 18 allowed. As a system, theirs is the antithesis of the Knicks style, with methodically run plays in which the focal is to hit the open man between seconds 10 & 15 on the clock. Rondo is the main facilitator. Stop him, and you stop Pierce and Allen from having opportunities created for in motion sets. This was recently evidenced in Boston's losses to both Chicago and Miami.

Crazy⑧s' Big Fat Facts

As we all know, hitting our shots at a high rate will be the be all and end all of our chance at getting past these leprechaun lesbians.

The Knicks are 8-29 when they shoot less than 45 percent from the field and 13-32 when they make fewer than 10 threes. How will our offence fare against the 2nd best defence in the league?

How To Compensate Against Bad Shooting & Boston's D

We MUST run more designed plays to compensate for any bad shooting spell that may occur during stages of the game(s) and get to the FT line as much as possible. STAT in particular must be given the opportunity to draw fouls on offensive bigs.

Both defensively and offensively, Shawne Williams and TD23's contributions play second fiddle only to our big 3.

Their shot making and defensive assignments are momentous for us. Williams, in particular, must get on the glass, play well in the post and contest shots. He's been called for fouls frequently in the paint over our end season streak, and we can't afford for him to be on the bench in foul trouble.

I consider him the most pivotal role player in a series in which we are under sized, and will rely heavily on his corner 3s which have been there ever since the Melo trade.

中 ON THE INSIDE 中

What is there to say to our 5s? If they don't bring their heads, hearts and heroism to this game, or those that follow, we're in trouble. We expect nothing more than defence and effort on the glass at both ends.

We need to run some plays for Amar'e and get him to the line. He must be included in the offence to keep Boston's incredibly tight motion defence moving. Through motion, we find holes and gaps. Garnett contests jumpers well with that 7'4" wingspan and deft timing. It is beyond crucial that Amar'e gets to the FT line, and has a chance to create for others from the high post as he has all year. Fields, in particular has a chance to reap the benefits of Boston's focus on Amar'e with his size and athletic advantage over Ray Allen.

On Feb. 22, the Carmelo Anthony(notes) soap opera ended when he and Chauncey Billups(notes) came to the Knicks from the Denver Nuggets, a trade that cost New York three regulars. Two days later, the Celtics obtained Jeff Green(notes) and Nenad Krstic(notes) from Oklahoma City and gave up starting center Kendrick Perkins(notes), a stout defender and strong physical presence.

The transitions haven’t been smooth for either team.

And now they face each other in Sunday night’s opener of a best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series.

“It was risky for both of us,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said Saturday. “Both teams, when they first made the trade, started winning right away and then started losing right after that. It happens all the time.”

The Celtics were 41-15 at the time of the deal and 15-11 since then, finishing third in the East at 56-26. The Knicks were 28-26 before their trade and 14-14 after it, ending up at 42-40.

Boston did win its first five games with Green and Krstic and New York went 6-3 immediately after Anthony and Billups arrived.

“When you first make (the trade), everyone’s just kind of playing,” Rivers said. “Then, all of a sudden, the new system starts kicking in, their old system is still in and you completely lose the rhythm. I’d say both teams did that.

“But now, I think, we’ve had some time together. These three, four days (of practice) have been tremendous for us. I think we’ll both be ready.”

The Knicks gave up three of their top four scorers—Raymond Felton(notes), Danilo Gallinari(notes) and Wilson Chandler(notes). But they picked up Anthony to team with Amare Stoudemire(notes) as an imposing offensive punch.

And Billups provides the veteran savvy, playoff experience and ability to run a team and score.

“I feel good,” Anthony said. “I feel confident in where this team is at, how far this team has come. From Day 1 when I got here up until now we came a long way. And I feel very confident about going into Boston in this series.”

Stoudemire was the first piece in the Knicks improvement when they signed him as a free agent in the offseason. He averaged 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 78 games. Anthony averaged 26.3 points in his 27 games with New York, which lost its only matchup with the Celtics with him in the lineup, 96-86 after outplaying them for almost 45 minutes.

“Any time you’re involved in the playoffs, you get a chance to really assess the team,” Stoudemire said. “We feel like we have the right tools right now to make something special happen.”

The Knicks finished with their first winning record in 10 seasons and reached the playoffs for just the second time in that span.

The Celtics won their 17th NBA championship in 2008 and lost the NBA finals last year in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers.

But Boston will be without center Shaquille O’Neal(notes) on Sunday and likely longer because of a right calf injury. He tried running before practice on Saturday but stopped when it became too painful.

He missed 27 games with a sore right leg then returned on April 4 but played just 5 minutes, 29 seconds before leaving again with the calf problem. He sat out the remaining six regular season games.

“You want the Big Fella to be healthy,” Paul Pierce(notes) said. “You want him to be out there to give us a boost, but the guys that are in uniform out there playing, that’s all we can worry about right now.”

His absence may not be as damaging since the Knicks aren’t extremely physical inside. And the Celtics have Jermaine O’Neal(notes) back to add bulk in the middle after he played just 24 games because of knee problems. But he sat out just two of the last eight.

“He’s going to be big,” Pierce said, “just defensively the way he guards, being able to clog up the middle. We’re going to need more than one guy to try to shut down Carmelo, Chauncey and Amare.”

Combine their experience and scoring ability and they’re a tough trio for the Celtics to handle.

“That’s a burden,” Rivers said. “Every time you get in a close game with them you know it’s extremely dangerous because they’ve got three guys that can just make shots whether you play good defense or not.”

So do the Celtics with Pierce, Kevin Garnett(notes) and Ray Allen(notes). Point guard Rajon Rondo(notes) was inconsistent after the trade but is the driving force behind their offense.

“We always want to get the ball in Rondo’s hands and push the ball,” Pierce said, “try to use his speed, especially in the open court.”

That should be a challenge for the Knicks, a team that allowed the third most points in the NBA, 105.7 per game. Interestingly, Denver allowed 8.1 fewer points per game after trading Anthony and Billups. The Celtics gave up the fewest in the NBA for the season, 91.1.

“When we play teams that are top echelon or top in the rankings, we tend to play better defensively,” Stoudemire said. “Hopefully, that rubs off in the series.”

Bummer that I'm gonna be on the road while the game is going so I'll have to watch from my laptop.. But either way I'm pumped! LETS GET READY TO SCHOK THE WORLD! PROVE THE NAY SAYING FAGGOTS WRONG! BEAT THE CELDICKS!

Word Crazy.. Epic thread. I'm kinda lucky its late here now so I get to sleep most of the hours away before the game... God I'm so excited. Believe guys. We are going to win this game, take home court and take the series. I truly believe that.

There's no way Billups Melo and Stat are gonna get beaten by an aging east coast team!

Word Crazy.. Epic thread. I'm kinda lucky its late here now so I get to sleep most of the hours away before the game... God I'm so excited. Believe guys. We are going to win this game, take home court and take the series. I truly believe that.

There's no way Billups Melo and Stat are gonna get beaten by an aging east coast team!

I'm in New Zealand at the moment. Don't know anyone here who even cares about the NBA haha! If Knicks won this series I'll probably be running up and down my street cheering at 2pm on a weekday with people wondering what the fck is going on

Haha yeah well I haven't tried to sleep yet its 10pm sunday night right now... But tomorrow morning I'm getting a PS3 (been waiting a long ass time for this) and the Knicks play the C's!!! If I sleep tonight it will be a miracle